Our Objectives

The overarching goal of the Bridging the Word Gap Research Network is to reduce the number of children who enter school with delays in language and early literacy. Immediately, the Network will galvanize efforts to close the Word Gap disparity by creating an interdisciplinary research network and working to increase the national capacity to conduct research on interventions that increase language and literacy development in young children.

The Bridging the Word Gap Research Network has the following objectives:

Create a national research agenda identifying the top 10 actionable research priorities that will make a difference in bridging the gap

Synthesize the evidence base in workgroups designed to address knowledge gaps in:

language-promoting practices,

approaches for scaling up interventions, and

conveying public awareness messages in communities

Create an intervention research platform, known as a data infrastructure, consisting of measures, designs, analyses, and digital IT devices and software tools all supporting ongoing and planned research and evaluation